1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to travel cases or containers, and more particularly to a collapsible hard case for protectively transporting a large object.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Protective travel cases are generally known. By way of example, U.S. Publication 2004/0232016 provides a telescoping hard case for carrying a golf bag and U.S. Pat. No. 3,628,655 discloses a sectional, convertible wig case.
In particular, regarding surfboards, typically surfers travel to remote destinations for participating in the sport, especially for competitions, vacations, etc. Additionally, boards are shipped from manufacturers to distributors, retailers and customers using an archaic, damage prone method of cardboard, bubble wrap and duct tape packaging. There are currently no convenient methods for shipping such boards. Problematically, shipment of surfboards or transport in air cargo damages the board surface and introduces structural stresses that the boards were not designed to be exposed to. In many cases, incidental damage to boards during travel and/or transportation can functionally ruin a surfboard. In a specific circumstance, applicant's surfboard was destroyed by a baggage handler in airline transport to Hawaii from the continental US. Since boards are expensive and surfers typically prefer to use their own board rather than generic boards, especially for more advanced surfers and professionals in competition, there has been a need to provide a protective shipping case or container for surfboards.
Typically, however, containers for shipment of large objects, such as the size of a surfboard, are large and bulky. Upon safe transport of the surfboard then, the container must be stored in a correspondingly large space. Surfboards often range in length from 6-10 feet, in width between about 2-3 feet, and in depth about 3 inches.
One commercially available surfboard case offered at the time of the present invention is by Santa Monica Hard Case in California, USA. While this product provides a protective case for surfboards, it is formed of a flexible plastic that leaves the boards vulnerable to damage during transport or shipment. Also, it has limited size options and features. Furthermore, this case does not collapse into itself.
Thus there remains a need for a protective case for surfboards that also provides for convenient storage when not in use and for ease of transport when carried.